Road Trip: Reloaded
by Twilights-Pain
Summary: Julie's never been one for taking risks, and that's perhaps why she's losing touch with all of her friends, a group of addicts. But when Julie meets Alistair, she may be taking the biggest risk of all, putting her life on the line for him. M for drug use
1. Preface

I took a deep breath as I faced off with my killer, the demon hidden within an angel; the wolf in sheep's clothing. She had destroyed everything that my previous life had been devoted too. But I'd be damned if I let her touch my new life.

With another breath, I began to search for my escape. In my head I knew what it would be already, but whether or not I could work up the courage to commit the final act would be up to my heart.

But this was for him… I didn't want him to see me die at the hands of someone else. I didn't want him to have to worry about this deceitful creature anymore. I would take care of her and… simultaneously, take care of myself.

I took a deep breath, one of the last I assumed, and lunged into the drivers seat.


	2. Chapter 1: My friends, My friends

"Sweet home Alabama!"

The words, shouted a voice that could only belong to a man who had spent most of his night drinking, nearly caused me to veer off out of the lane we were in and crash into the Sedan beside us. I looked over at the shouter, Ryan, and glared fiercely before looking back at the road.

"The hell was that for?" I grumbled to him and reached toward my Monster. I really didn't want to drink it (The smell alone nearly made me puke) but it was the only thing in the car that had the power to both keep me awake and wasn't alcoholic. Of course, Ryan had complained quite a bit that I had drunk it, claiming that he was going to use it to mix it with. Leave it to Ryan to think of something that was bad enough and make it worse by adding alcohol.

"I wanted to liven up the mood." He answered and then jabbed his finger toward me. "But it won't because you're so grumpy, Julie."

"And why do you think I'm grumpy?" I asked, shooting another glare at him.

"Because you need a beer!" He caught my look and stuck his lip out and then scratched his head a little. "How about Tequila?"

"How about you shut your mouth before I push you out of the van!"

"Shut up…" Someone moaned from the back, tossing an object at my head. I ducked down a little and watched the tampon fly past me and hit the window.

"Good morning beautiful!" Ryan greeted exuberantly. "How about a smooch?"

"How about you fuck off, Ryan?"

"But Kristen…"

A soft but harsh grunt cut Ryan off and he quickly snapped his mouth shut. I laughed a bit and grabbed the tampon. As soon as Ryan was turned away, I chucked it at him.

"There, entertain yourself." I muttered.

I really should have known better, but apparently my brain was a bit far away at the moment (probably because I was in serious need for a goodnights sleep). Not even five minutes after I threw the tampon at him, he had it out of the wrapper and was fiddling with it, trying to figure out how it worked.

"God Ryan, really?" I asked and snatched it from him.

"Grumpy pants…." He growled and crossed his arms across his chest.

It was hard to believe that I'd already put up with three days of this. It wouldn't have been so bad if Ryan was normal at some point, but unfortunately, he wasn't. He was annoying at every minute of the day, unless he was sleeping or all out stoned. Anything less and he was grinding on my nerves.

Of course Kristen, who was slightly less annoying than Ryan, certainly wasn't helping anything. She was being bitchy as usual (Probably for the same reasons that she had a tampon nearby) and when she wasn't doing that, she was completely on Ryan, trying to seduce him.

I really did not want to see the results of that…

Perhaps the only person that hadn't annoyed me was Devin, my closest friend. He had been remotely normal for the entire trip (Though three days wasn't saying much) and also hadn't been trying to seduce anyone. Of course the only other available person in the van was myself and I wouldn't stand for any of that. That aside, he was probably my most favorite person in the world at this moment.

I was remotely concerned about him though. Before we'd started this trip, he was as clean as I was. Sure we'd had a few wild parties here and there, but never anything hard and never _ever_ any drugs. Now though, Devin was high and almost every moment of the day and each night he drank until I had to take the bottle away.

I sighed a bit and saw the lights of a town on the horizon. I would stop there for the night, no matter what. I needed my sleep and it sure as hell wouldn't be in here. Besides, if the others made me be the designated driver then I would get to chose when, where and how long we stopped.

Everyone else seemed to be asleep when I arrived at the hotel. To be nice, I tried waking them, but waking the dead probably would have been easier. I soon gave up and went in to rent a room. I even left a note and a spare key for the others.

With a sigh, I made my way to the room and unlocked it. For a moment, I thought I saw someone move out of the corner of my eye, but put it off as over exhaustion and went inside. I locked the door without a second thought and then collapsed on the bed.

-**Alistair POV-**

I watched as the young girl made her way into the hotel room. It would be perfectly easy to take her here and now. She was alone…no one would hear her protests as I drank the sweet nectar that was her blood from the smooth column of her neck.

I hesitated though, missing my opportunity to strike. Something about her made me want to get closer, but not in the hunter way. I wanted to know about her…

_Knock it off, Alistair._ I scolded myself. _She's a human; she would hate you for what you are. Besides, humans are only good for one thing…_

"Food…" I whispered to myself. Still, I couldn't bring myself to open the unlocked door to her van and grab the key that had been left in there. It would be easy for me to take her, and yet I couldn't manage to do so.

So I stood there motionless, watching my dinner slip away.


	3. Chapter 2: Only the Shadowed Man Knows

As soon as I woke the next morning, I got back on the road. The others were still sleeping, surprisingly, so I doubted they even noticed that we had stopped. Of course, I hadn't slept all that much, feeling nervous about being alone. It would have been so bad if the others had been there as well, even if they were drunk off their asses or high as kites.

At about noon, my stomach began to growl at me, alerting me to my growing hunger. Around that same time, I ran out of water, so I stopped as soon as I saw a place that would have something half way decent for me to buy and crept out. The others were only partially awake now, so they didn't bother objecting. Even if they did though, I still would have gone. Hunger was a very pressing issue in my book, and when I was hungry, I was bitchy.

I walked around the store, stretching as I did. I'd already cramped up and I'd only been driving for an hour or so.

Honestly, I didn't know that I'd signed up for a designated driver when we planned the trip. I figured that we'd all be equal in our rotations. So far, I'd drove for eighty percent of the time, Devin had drove for fifteen percent, Ryan four and Kristen one. I didn't complain though. As the driver, I had the chance to veto any smoking opportunities.

I smirked a bit as I pulled a Monster off the rack and eyed it. If this trip kept up, I'd end up downing Monsters on a daily basis. I shuddered at the thought and put it back before going to the pop. Though still not nutricious, it was a hell of a lot better than the caffinated crap I'd just been holding. After a few minutes of thought, I leaned forward and grabbed a pepsi.

As I wrapped my hand around the bottle, I caught sight of a black haired man watching me intensely. For a second, I almost averted my gaze in attempt at hiding, but instead held his until he was the one who looked away. As soon as I did I straightened up and rushed down the aisle and toward the self check, barely pausing to snag a bag of potato chips.

Outside I felt slightly better, knowing that I was close to the car and safety, though I didn't want to head back to it yet. Instead I sat on the curb and shielded my eyes as I looked around. The sun had yet to make its appearance, instead it lay shielded behind a thin layer of clouds. The heat was already extreme though, so I stood and turned around to look for a nearby lake that we could cool off in.

Instead of finding the map that I was expecting; the map that I had seen on the way in, I found only black cloth. I blinked for a second in confusion before flicking my gaze upward and staring into the eyes of the most beautiful creature I had ever seen.

His eyes were red and slightly frightening, but not to the point that I was running in fear. Instead I stared closer, my curiosity getting the best of me.

It was then that I saw his hair.

It was nearly black, the color of a ravens feather almost. I wold have called it beautiful, had it not belonged to the man that I had just seen watching me; the man that had caused me to run out of the store, scared.

"Who are you?" I asked him softly, stepping back a bit. He merely smiled at me and shook his head, his dark locks falling in his face. It made him look almost childlike, far too innocent and nothing like the man that had been watching me only minutes before though they clearly were the same person.

"Are those your friends I see?" He asked softly, pointing behind me. I spun around, panicking a little. If the others were to see me talking with this man then they would assume the worst. I really didn't want to deal with those repercussions. There was nothing there though, so I turned back to the man to snap at him.

Only he wasn't there... or anywhere.

"The hell...?" I whispered, stepping back a bit. There was a man there, I knew that. I didn't hallucinate or have any mental problems along those line and I certainly wasn't doing the drugs that would cause it.

Unless...

I turned toward the van and started running, throwing the door wide open and waking everyone completely. Ryan glared at me through fingers that had flown to his face, obviously trying to block out the light. I hoped it burned his iris's to little itty bitty bits and fell out of his head.

"Ryan!" I shouted, hopping inside. "You've been spiking my water, haven't you?!"

"Mm?" He lowered his hands slightly. "The hell are you going on about, Julie?"

"You've been putting some type of hallucinagen in my water bottles."

"What the fuck...?" Ryan sat up a bit, his eyes bloodshot. "Why in the world would I do that?"

"Because you're a freak." I shot back, glaring. "All I know is that I've been seeing things that can't possibly be real..."

"Maybe it's you that's been fucking around with drugs?" Ryan questioned, smirking a bit. "Trying to make it to the big leagues, Julie?"

"Shut it!!" I shouted, starting to lunge at him, but strong arms caught me from behind. I turned a little, panting in anger, and found myself face to face with Devin, who was looking at me in concern.

"What happened?" He asked softly.

"I saw something....something weird....." I whispered, shaking my head slightly. "It couldn't have been real, so... I thought...."

Devin began to laugh; a loud booming sound that almost made me scream at him.

"Julie, this is Ryan we're talking about. Blonde Ryan.... the one who's too stoned to process where we are...."

When Devin put it that way, I realized the stupidity in my logic. He was right, Ryan wasn't capable of putting something like this together. If he wanted me to do drugs, he'd confront me directly about it instead of beating around the bush.

"Right..." I whispered and nodded a bit.

* * *

-**Alistair POV-**

I sat with my back to the wall, panting slightly and clutching at my throat. I'd gotten too close to the girl, Julie as her friends said. I'd smelled her scent for too long. She smelled so delicious, so mouthwatering. It was like her scent was made for me and me alone. It wanted me to harm her, to kill her. I couldn't though, for some reason. I couldn't bring myself to go to her and drain her.

"What's wrong with me..." I moaned, releasing my throat. "I shouldn't _want_ to resist her. I should be able to rip her throat out right now and drink all of her blood.... I shouldnt want to follow her..."

I shook my head and watched the rickety van drive away. I shut my eyes kept my mind on her, making sure I knew where she was going. I didn't know what was going on, but I did know that I wanted to follow her; I wanted to know what she was doing to me to make me like this.


	4. Chapter 3: Mixed Feelings

**AN: This chapter _should _have been up two days ago, but my internet died.... Anyways, this chapter is dedicated to the lovely audreymae. Without her review asking for an update, I would have ignored this for awhile longer and my writers block would have gone on.... **

**Thank you.  
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The rest of the day passed with me feeling exceptionally on edge, though I couldn't figure out what it is. Yes, it all led back to the mysterious man who I'd found watching me not once, but twice, but what part of it was what I was confused and worried about. Had I accidentally come across LSD or some type of hallucinogen, or was I just overly tired? Or maybe, and I didn't want to consider this possibility, had he followed me?

I didn't understand that at all. I'd never seen or socialized with him at all, so why he would have a reason to stalk me like he had was beyond me. What really threw me for a loop was the fact that he was stalking me instead of big boobed, perfectly dressed Kristen.

_Calm down Julie._ I scolded myself mentally. _There's _nothing _weird going on here, and even if there is, you've got...companions to keep you safe._

I nodded to myself and then moved on to wondering if it really was safe to talk to myself within my mind. I even started to worry that I was going insane. At that point though, I turned on the radio, hoping to distract myself.

Unfortunately, the next three songs that played all seemed to taunt the inner troubles of my life. It played in an order like this: _We are all on Drugs,_ taunting me about my friends inner addictions, _Girl Next Door _to rub in the fact that I'd never compare to Kristen and then _Paranoid,_ just to show what an idiot I was being.

I shut the radio off after that, dreading what else might come on and instead put in the Lynyrd Skynyrd CD that I'd brought along for nostalgia's sake. We'd met over Lynyrd Skynyrd, at a concert that all our parents had forced us to go to. None of us were the same as we were now; back then I was the wild haired leader of all the kids I could dredge up from the campground. I led them on ridiculous adventures to find the 'Eight Pokemon Badges' or 'The Eight digivices,' drawing them from my most treasured childhood TV shows.

Then we, meaning Devin, Ryan, Kristen and I were all grouped together for the concert and put under the watchful eye of Devin's older sister. We hated each other at first, but slowly grew to liking one another through the song Sweet Home Alabama.

And yet, despite nearly ten years of friendship, we'd all fallen apart. True, we hadn't been friends the entire time; we'd grown apart and back together many times, but the fact remained that ten years didn't show for anything.

I sighed softly and tried to absorb myself into the voices and lyrics that we swirling around me, even going as far as singing along with them. It didn't do anything for me, just drew me back to my two, very pressing problems.

One of which I dreaded even thinking about.

_So don't Julie._ I scolded mentally. _It's not that hard, just _don't_ think about him._

But I couldn't. Everytime I blinked, his face was embedded on my eyelids. If I took a breath, it send a thrill down my spine. It was like every part of me was drawn to him, despite my more prominent mental protests.

I couldn't explain it, and that, coupled with every other element that involved this man, scared me to death.

-

~Alistair~

The rickety van moved onward, blasting music of one of the states in the country. I did not know or care for the specifics, or at least not for my own self. I was curious about them though, because Julie listened to them, and that meant that I should.

As soon as I thought that, I raised my foot a little higher than I had been and kicked myself in the back, both smirking and wincing as it hit with a crack.

I had to admit though, my sudden desire for Julie's companionship instead of her blood had me perturbed. I knew that the Cullen boy's desire for his wife's blood led him to safe her and eventually woo her. I'd always put it off as a rare occurance or a fools move, and certainly never though that it could happen to me. Yet here I was, longing for a girl I could probably never have for myself; I'd either kill her or she would hate me.

That very thought sent pain crackling through the dead space that had once been my heart. The thought of Julie dying by my hands; her sweet nectar of life dripping down my palms, or worse, from my lips, sent an involuntary shudder down my spine. I could never let Julie die, especially if it was by me.

I do not know what spurred me to do what I did next, but suddenly I stopped dead in my tracks and tilted my head to the sky, my fingers touching the smooth silver of the ancient religious chain I had been given.

_Please God... _I prayed. _Let me protect this girl and keep her safe. Give me the strength to keep her alive...and the strength to not hurt her myself._

- - -

**AN: O hai Dere. Yes, I'm updating, and I have a list of changes that are going to be taking place.**

**-More Backstory. Alistair has a dark and haunted past, Julie has emotional troubles**

**-Alistair is going to be more sophisticated in his speaking. **

**-Kristen, Devin and Ryan are going to have spotlight 'll have a little bit of story time too**

**-More time on the road.**

**-Maybe a little Lemonade? **

**...And much more. **

**Be excited guys. School's starting. I know it probably sucks, but this means to me that the creative juices will be a'flowing. **


	5. Chapter 4: Comparisons

Nearly two hours passed before the van came to another stop, this time at the edge of a lake. By now the moon was out, casting a beautiful blue glow over the entire landscape. A wind blew by, whipping my clothes a little but otherwise passing me easily. I closed my eyes and sighed a little, wishing I could feel how pleasent the breeze was, as I had so many hundred years before.

I shivered at the thought, my hand drifting to my arm and making its way to my neck. The many bites that I sustained during my change were etched along it. The marks prickled in response, making me shift uncomfortably. My mind was whipping back and forth between possibilities. I could leave here and let my beloved Julie move on or I could follow her to the ends of the earth.

The scars seemed to grow colder, making me hesitate. If I were to follow Julie then surely the same fate that had befallen me awaited her. Vampires were not the type to discern who was chosen for who; the went for who had the best taste. The vampires were ruled by greed and that greed led them to hunt for the sweetest blood. Anything less was pointless. That had been my fate, and by the way Julie smelled it could await her.

_But she would encounter a vampire anyways_. Some part of my mind argued. _If someone really wanted her blood, it wouldn't be my fault._

I nearly laughed at my unconsciousee and oh-so desperate attempt to cling to this girl. I was finding idiotic reasons to stay, and those reasons were so tempting that I wanted to give in.

_If I were around though, I could keep them away..._

All at once images of me crouched over her body and drinking overwhelmed me. I held my throat as the burn increased, tempted by the mere image of that sweet nectar pouring down my throat and saturating the ground. The image started to shift though, giving way to someone else. This girl was a blond in a Victorian style dress. She was gasping my name, crying for it to stop as her child screamed and ran.

I flinched, shaking my head in an attempt to clear it of all the troubling thoughts. To distract myself, I turned back to the now quiet van that was filled with the sounds of soft breathing. I could already pick out the soft whisper of Julie's breath, now coming slow as what I assumed was sleep overcame her. It was quiet like that for maybe ten minutes, serene for both the members of the small group and myself.

But as soon as I was completely sure Julie was asleep and sneaking my way down to the can to sneak a peek, I saw the light flip on. Stopping dead in my tracks, I listened for a voice or a sound to clue me in on who was awake.

"Hey, Devin, Kris, you guys awake?" A gruff voice whispered.

Two responses came, both an excited yes. The first voice was gravelly but youthful and the second high and very annoying to my ears. I assumed that the male one was Devin and could only hope that Kris was the girl.

"Can we now Ryan?" Kris asked, followed by a shuffling sound. "I've been looking forward to this _s34edr4oo_ much, baby."

Ryan laughed a little and seemed to nod, for Kris gave an excited giggle and Devin laughed with him.

With a bad feeling growing in my hollow chest, I crept closer and peeked through the window. The three were sitting up and taking something out of a tissue wrapping. Julie was curled up in the drivers seat, still belted in. As far as I could tell, she was out cold. The other three didn't seem to care about that, too absorbed in what I assumed was a make-shift joint.

Kris flicked her gaze over a Julie just as I ducked back down. She seemed to shift a little and groaned.

"Julie's still here Ryan..." She muttered. "You know she hates this."

"Hey, calm down." Ryan stated, letting out an odd laugh. "What she doesn't know won't hurt her."

I blinked in surprise, my gaze drifting back up to Julie. She looked so peaceful in her sleep, so undisturbed. She was also deep in her sleep so she obviously didn't notice the scene unfolding.

"You sure you wanna do that?" Devin asked lazily. "You know she'll be pissed."

"If she wakes up. Who knows.... maybe she'll enjoy it anyways."

The responding laugh sent a shiver down my spine and into my arm, my arm that lashed out and smacked on the window. It shuddered once before breaking into a thousand pieces, most of them raining down inside of the van. I heard Julie shift and then swear about something before I saw her head and dark hair bob up. She tilted her head once, twice and then stiffen.

"W-What are you thinking?" She stuttered, her hand now reaching for the door and grazing over some of the remaining glass. She drew in a breath quickly and lift her hand. My breath caught in my mouth as I saw the dark red liquid dripping down her hand.

I stared in disbelief, my body shuddering at the slight scent of blood I had caught. Before I could even run though, the door opened and one of Julie's long legs slipped out. Before I could even move, Julie was out and starting to run.

And of course, I was right in the way.

Before my normally super accelerated brain could process what had happened, her body slammed into mine and her hand grazed just past my face. The luscious scent of her blood passing in front of my face and invading every sense I had sent me careening over the edge.


	6. Chapter 5: Confrontation

"_You!_" Julie spatn pointing her bloody hand at me. Scrambling to avoid more attention than I needed, I covered her mouth, my chest rising and falling quickly. My desires were running wild, telling me to drink from the wound and enjoy the taste of this girls life blood. Julie wasn't making things any easier on me. She was flinging her arms and splashing me with blood; especially on my face.

Finally, I managed to roll so that I was pinning her body. Immediately, Julie's struggles ceased as she gaze at me. Her eyes showed a million emotions but the most prominent of them all were hate and curiosity.

"Calm down." I told her softly, jerking my thumb toward the van and her baking friends. "You don't want them to hear, do you."

I felt Julie's mouth move beneath my hands, twisting into a frown. She gazed up at me, her eyes narrowing slightly, before shaking her head. Reluctantly, I withdrew my hand, hoping that Julie would return the trust that I was showing her now. Perhaps to my disbelief, she stayed quiet, gaze locked on me.

"Who are you?" she finally asked, her voice soft. I saw her hand lift and start to move toward me, but I recoiled and turned my gaze away. Shudders ran through me, threatening to draw me in and make me lose control. Watching, Julie's eyebrows furrowed and her head tilted slightly.

"Don't like blood I see." she observed softly.

"N-No." I stuttered in response, not sure if I had just lied or not.

"Eh... sissy..." she muttered, eying her hand speculatively. "A little blood never hurt anyone."

_Says you!_ I grumbled to myself, glancing at the blood hungrily. Instead I feigned surprise and looked at her.

"Are you referring to me?"

She nodded a little and a smirk grew across her beautiful and highly amused face.

"Isn't it like... super stalker rule number one to love blood?" She asked.

I blinked a little, now feeling embarrassed. Julie certainly remembered me, much to my doom. She would use my following her against me for the rest of the time that I knew her. I could only hope that she would forget it some time soon. Until then, she would look at me with that amused smirk/smile and make me squirm.

"I-I'm not a stalker..." I told her, shifting a little but keeping my voice even.

"You followed me, didn't you?" She asked, her tone now fading into annoyance.

"Maybe we just showed up at the same place." I said casually, glancing up at her and back down at her hand. "Do you have a first aid kit? Your hand is bleeding everywhere and sooner or later you're bound to see and pass out."

"I won't-" Julie glanced down at her hand and swayed, eyeing the gory mess before giving me a shaky nod. After that she moved off to the van, returning just as I started to doubt if she would return. She held the kit to her chest, along with a water bottle, with her left hand, favoring her right.

"So you can clean it." She stated, seeing my confused look.

"Right.." I nodded a bit and motioned for her to sit in front of me. As soon as she was comfortable I started, uncapping tohe bottle and overturning it on her hand. Julie stayed still, but her teeth were clenched in obvious pain. It was interesting to see for me, amusing even. Humans had no idea the meaning of pain... they hadn't endured what I had. Nor had they endured the burning within their throats when a meal was so close. That burn however was fading as the water watered it down.

With a sigh of relief, I glanced up at Julie before slipping my shirt off. She glanced at me in surprise, but then rolled her eyes as I dabbed it along her hand to dry it.

"I'm sure I could have dug up some towels..." She stated dryly.

"Probably." I kept my eyes down as I tossed my shirt aside and grabbed the bottle of hydrogen peroxide. Julie merely stared, but whether it was at me or something else, I wasn't sure. Before I could even think about checking, I poured a little of the liquid onto the gash and waited. Julie's sharp intake of breath was the only indication that she was pained by it, the rest of her face was as hard as a rock. As I waited for the bubbling to die down, a took out a square of gauze and put an anti-bacterial cream on it.

"Are you a doctor?"

Julie's question surprised me, so much so that I had to scramble to hang onto the strip of gauze that had flown out of my hands when I flinched. She snorted a little, but watched and waited for an answer.

"Um... no..." I finally managed, looking at the gruesome wound. "I have a friend who's one though and I've watched him work before."

"Oh? Where does he work..."

"Forks..." I looked up at her, smirking as I saw her bewildered look.

"What the fuck kind of name is that...?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I believe that it was named after the _forks_ in a nearby river..."

She nodded slowly, and tilted her head.

"Small town, I take it?"

"Yup. And before you ask he likes working there."

"Wasn't going to." She stated, growing quiet again. I sighed inwardly, wanting the chance to communicate with her. It was so hard to appease her, to find a topic that she liked. I wanted to hear her voice, but right now all I could hear was the whistling of the wind.

It didn't take too long for her to speak, much to my surprise of course.

"If you're not a stalker then why are you here?" She asked, an eyebrow raising.

I frowned a little as I unwrapped some tape and bound the gauze in place. This answer would take some thinking, both to please her and to avoid her calling her friends or police.

"I like it here." I stated after a second. "I've wanted to come here for awhile... I've been wandering around these parts you see."

"Then why were you at that store?"

"I was hungry...." I explained, glancing at her. "Is that a crime?"

"N-No." She stuttered, taken aback. "I was just wondering... 'cause it's weird to see you again and all."

Glancing up at her, I decided to take a risk, to play some of my cards and see what she would do in return.


	7. Chapter 6: Gamble

Julie POV~

An odd look passed through Alistair's oddly colored eyes as he watched me. He seemed to be chewing on his cheek, mulling over what he was about to say. If I wasn't being compromised by the thrills of adrenaline and the sheer smell of him (It was like that scent was for me alone. I felt like I was in Harry Potter, being bewitched by the love potion), I would have thought that he looked sad and was brooding over the thoughts passing through his head. It made me want to reach out and touch his cheek, despite everything.

"If I told you I was following you, what would you say?" He asked lightly, glancing up at me from behind those dark eye lashes.

"I'd ask why...." I stated, not feeling any fear toward the possibility, even though I had before.

"Why then?" He tilted his head up, looking thoughtful. "Hmm..."

"You were following me then?" I asked, adding a slight emphasis.

"Indeed. You were so intriguing, Julie. When I first noticed you, you were so lost in your thoughts, distracted by them, that you looked... vulnerable, I guess. It was like the dangers of the outside world, dangers such as myself," He grimaced, "Didn't exist."

"You consider yourself a danger?"

Alistair chuckled, eyes twinkling slightly before being covered by the solemn look that seemed to be the typical look of him.

"Not nessaciarily, but there are times that I wondered. Think about it this way, what if I was the blood thirsty stalker you thought I was. Wouldn't that make me dangerous?"

"I suppose." I reasoned. "But it doesn't matter, carry on."

"Right.... when I saw you in the store, you had that same look, even as you contemplated that ghastly beverage. I'm glad you have better taste than that."

I allowed a slight smirk and nodded for him to continue.

"Because of that, something just told me to follow you. I tried to convince my self that it was just a general location interest, because this place really is beautiful, but I know different now. I was attracted by you, and your thoughts. To be honest, I wondered to myself what I would give to hear your thoughts." He admitted ruefully.

I shivered involuntarily, somewhat weirded out by his sudden seriousness. He was taking on that stalker side again, and that scared me.

"Scared now, Julie?" He asked, reading my thoughts it seemed. I nodded a little and sat down on the ground, staring up at him in bewilderment.

"I'm not interesting..." I stated after awhile. "Not at all."

"Says you..." He sat beside me. "But you are. I wish things could be easier... that I could admit my feelings and both of us could forget that I... followed you so far."

"S'not as scary as you think... actually kind of cool, in a twisted way." I stated, gazing up at the stars. "Where are you going to go now?"

He grimaced slightly and plucked a piece of grass from the ground, spinning it around before setting it back on the ground. I could tell that the question had him on edge and had a feeling there was more to it than just confusion.

"I... I don't know..." He said slowly.

______

~Alistair POV~

Julie seemed satisfied with my answer, but I myself wasn't. What I had wanted to say was 'I'll follow you to the ends of the earth and back,' but it hardly seemed like the thing to say, especially since Julie was starting to warm up to me. I also wanted to say that I wanted her to come with me, to be mine, but that too wouldn't work.

"Well, I have to get this van moving tomorrow... and move on..." She stated. I could only hope that I sensed resentment in that sentence.

"We still have tonight, don't we?" I asked, smiling slightly. "Didn't anyone ever tell you to live in the now?"

"Well in this now, I'm tired, and I have crazy friends who won't let this go if they find out." She stated, grinning. "But they're probably to stoned to care."

"You feel alone, don't you?" I asked, abruptly. Julie glanced at me, eyes narrowed, before sighing and standing again.

"Of course I do." She whispered. "This trip was supposed to be fun, but it hasn't been. Everyone but me is having fun."

"So why don't you try having fun?" I asked. "Even tonight, at midnight, you can have lots of fun, believe me."

"Like what?" She asked, tossing her head. "What can I do that will be so much fun at this time of night?"

I chuckled and pointed to the cliffs surrounding the lake, a slight smirk on my face. Julie would consider this risky behavior, but I wondered, if she was willing to trust me, even if I was frightening her, would she be willing to jump off a cliff.

"Seriously? That's a long drop." She stated, not sounding all that intimidated or frightened.

"Yep." I chuckled slightly and stood up. "Come on. You want to have fun right?"

She blinked slightly before nodding, pushing herself up and walking to the van.

"The road goes up that way. I don't want to walk all the way anyways. Get in." She jerked her thumb toward the passenger door.

"What about your friends."

She tilted her head slightly, dark hair pooling over one shoulder. Her grey eyes had a playful sparkling to them, even if her heart was racing at the thought. The sound excited me, but the laugh following sent my excitement to a whole new level.

"What about them?"


End file.
